freenovelworld Chapter 347 Is she a descendant of the previous dynasty?
Chapter 347 Is she a descendant of the previous dynasty?
"Your Majesty, what are the ministers saying?" Song Siyao asked.
Emperor Changlong's expression changed, becoming extremely ugly. "Most of them say that this is a sign from heaven, that the Great Zhou will perish in the third generation."
"Nonsense!" Song Siyao's face darkened, and her voice was cold.
When Emperor Changlong heard Song Siyao's words, "nonsense," he immediately felt much better.
He didn't believe in any divine prophecies, but the power of public opinion and the ability of three men to make a false impression made him fearful.
When faced with the unknown that is more powerful than themselves, people are always filled with fear.
Only Song Siyao stood by his side without hesitation, no matter what the situation.
"What does 'shaking' mean?" Changlong asked.
“Your Majesty, the carving marks on these surfaces have been specially treated; the carving was done no more than five years ago,” Song Siyao said, stroking the marks. “This was a long-planned uprising!”
"A riot?" Emperor Changlong asked, puzzled.
“Your Majesty, since it was premeditated, it certainly won’t be just this one thing, but a continuous series of actions. This is just the beginning.” Song Siyao had already received news two days ago that there were unusual gatherings in Chenghe.
In order not to alert the enemy, she had already sent people to keep a close watch.
"Does Yao Yao mean that I should wait and see?" Emperor Changlong asked.
"On the surface, we should wait and see, but secretly, Your Majesty, we need to make preparations as soon as possible." Song Siyao's eyes were gloomy.
Emperor Changlong nodded, agreeing with Song Siyao's point of view.
The storm came faster and more violently than they had imagined.
The next day.
early morning.
"Your Majesty, this is a tortoise found in Nanshan. It was brought to us by our servants. They found writing on the tortoise shell." Prime Minister Jiang held the tortoise up with both hands.
Emperor Changlong frowned. Just as Song Siyao had said, yesterday's prophecy about the big stone had only just begun, and the real storm was yet to come.
"Wang Fu!" Emperor Changlong called out.
The eunuch Wang took the tortoise and presented it to Emperor Changlong. Emperor Changlong's gaze fell on the tortoise's shell and saw a line of words.
The Shen family is inhumane; the world is doomed. The Xiao family replaced the Shen family, and the dynasty was established within three generations.
Emperor Changlong placed the tortoise on the imperial table, his clenched fist bulging with veins, his anger reaching its peak.
"How was this discovered?" Emperor Changlong asked.
"The local people found it while they were out beaching. They originally intended to release it, but after seeing the words on it, they brought it up immediately," Jiang Xiang explained.
"Yesterday's stone, today's tortoise, Minister Jiang, what are you trying to say?" Emperor Changlong asked.
"Your Majesty, I believe these are fake; it must be the work of remnants of the previous dynasty." Prime Minister Jiang said angrily. "Your Majesty, the remnants of the previous dynasty are stirring up trouble, and we must not tolerate them!"
"Prime Minister Jiang, I entrust this matter to you to investigate. I want to know the truth!" Emperor Changlong said angrily.
"Your subject obeys the decree!" Prime Minister Jiang accepted the order.
Emperor Changlong rose to his feet, and Eunuch Wang shouted, "Court adjourned!"
Back in the Imperial Study.
Emperor Changlong immediately ordered Eunuch Wang to summon Song Siyao to the palace.
After these two incidents, rumors have spread like wildfire in Beijing.
Teahouses, taverns, street stalls—wherever there are people, they're talking about it.
"Have you heard? The Great Zhou Dynasty is about to perish."
"You can't just say things like that!"
"Of course not. Everyone knows now that even God has made a prophecy about it."
"Yes, yes, I've heard that too. That big rock is a hundred years old, and the tortoise is several decades old. It's a prophecy."
"Heaven is going to destroy the Great Zhou!"
"The prophecy says that Xiao will replace Shen, and Xiao is the imperial surname of the previous dynasty. Do they still have descendants after a hundred years?"
"They should still exist. When the first emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty conquered the country, he did not exterminate them all. The royal family of the previous dynasty still has descendants."
……
Qingyun Academy.
The headmaster's room.
"Headmaster, these are the poems collected for this poetry gathering. I've already organized them. The students' articles from within the academy are in one volume, the teachers' articles are in another, and the poems from outside the academy are in yet another." Chen Chen placed a stack of books in front of Yang Qian.
"The abbot has done a very good job." Yang Qian said, picking up the top book, which was a collection of poems by the academy's teachers.
He flipped through the pages casually, his gaze settling on one particular page.
"Ms. Song truly deserves to be called the most talented woman in the world. Her poems and lyrics are all unique. They are not just boudoir lyrics or ditties filled with worries. They are all about family, country and the world. They are magnificent and inspiring, making people's blood boil and their fighting spirit soar."
Yang Qian showered him with praise, using every nice word he could think of.
Chen Chen smiled and said, "Headmaster, Mr. Song isn't here. No matter how many nice things you say, she won't hear them."
At Qingyun Academy, Yang Qian was a hands-off manager, with Chen Chen handling most of the work.
The two were very close and spoke very casually.
Yang Qian smiled and waved his hand, "It's alright, it's alright. I'm just telling the truth, there's no exaggeration in the slightest."
Chen Chen's expression suddenly turned serious. "Headmaster, Mr. Song's poems do seem very well written at first glance, but upon closer inspection, we find that there are many things that are not quite right."
"Oh?" Yang Qian looked at it again, frowning as he said, "What's wrong? I don't see it."
"Of course you won't see anything by looking at it word by word. You know what acrostic poems are, right? Someone as shrewd as Mr. Song would never express something that's immediately obvious. It's even more subtle than an acrostic poem."
Chen Chen said, "The poem 'Loyal Soul' that you are looking at now, if you connect the first character of the first line, the second character of the second line, the third character of the third line, and the fourth character of the fourth line in sequence, it will say 'The Great Zhou will surely perish'."
"Great Zhou..." Yang Qian read it aloud as Chen Chen had instructed, and found it to be true. He didn't even dare to finish reading it.
“Headmaster, it’s not just this one; you can see this in all her other poems,” Chen Chen said.
Yang Qian's expression changed drastically after reading the poems. He quickly put the collection together and exclaimed, "Something terrible has happened! The academy is doomed!"
“Headmaster, the most important thing now is to report this matter to the Emperor. Ms. Song has military power. If she has any disloyal intentions, the capital will be in danger.” Chen Chen said, “If we report Ms. Song, we can make amends and the academy will definitely not be implicated.”
"We are of lowly status, how could we possibly see the Emperor so easily?" Yang Qian said.
"We should find the Prime Minister; he's currently investigating this matter," Chen Chen suggested.
After discussing it, the two took Song Siyao's poetry collection to the Prime Minister's residence.
The next day, the morning court session.
Song Siyao's poetry collection reached Emperor Changlong through Prime Minister Jiang.
"Your Majesty, I have discovered new clues in the case of the stone and the tortoise prophecy that you ordered me to investigate," said Prime Minister Jiang.
"Where are the clues?" Emperor Changlong asked, shaking the book of poems in his hand.
Jiang Xiang said, "The clue lies in the poems in Your Majesty's possession. Please turn to the third page and read the first poem, 'Loyal Soul.' Your Majesty, I have marked it. Please read it aloud."
"The Great Zhou will surely..."
Before the word "death" could be uttered, Emperor Changlong slammed the poetry collection heavily onto the imperial table, enraged.